1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer used in a system in which a plurality of printers and a client personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a client PC) are connected through a network, and each of the plurality of printers is able to communicate with the other printers and the client PC. Note that a copying machine having a printer function (i.e., a multifunction device) is included in the category of printers.
2. Background of the Invention
Japan Patent Application Publication 2004-62359 discloses a printing system in which a plurality of printers, a client PC, and a printer administrative server that controls data on each of the plurality of printers (i.e., printer data) are connected to a network. The client PC can obtain the printer data by accessing the printer administrative server. Here, a list of the printer data is displayed on the client PC, in ascending or descending order of the power consumption thereof. A user of the client PC can select a printer to be used for printing from this list on the screen.
In the above described publication, the method by which the power consumption of each of the plurality of printers is determined is not disclosed. However, the power consumption is determined independently of the number of sheets to be printed, and the like. Therefore, it is thought that the power consumption of each of the plurality of printers is determined by the technical specifications for each printer, such as the maximum power consumption, the energy consumption efficiency of the printers, and the like. In this type of method for determining power consumption, it is impossible to calculate the actual power consumption for a given number of sheets to be printed.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for a user to be able to request printing from a printer that will consume the least amount of power for a particular print job. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.